Jon Ashton

Jonathan James Ashton (born 4 October 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is the fitness coach at Stevenage.

For the footballer born in 1979, see Jon Ashton (footballer, born 1979).

Jon Ashton
Personal information
Full name Jonathan James Ashton[1]
Date of birth (1982-10-04) 4 October 1982[1]
Place of birth Nuneaton, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1]
Playing position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Stevenage (fitness coach)
Youth career
1994–2001 Leicester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2003 Leicester City 9 (0)
2002 → Notts County (loan) 4 (0)
2003 → Oxford United (loan) 6 (0)
2003–2006 Oxford United 91 (1)
2006–2007 Rushden & Diamonds 40 (2)
2007–2009 Grays Athletic 57 (2)
2009–2015 Stevenage 192 (5)
2015–2016 Crawley Town 30 (0)
2016–2017 Braintree Town 15 (0)
2017 → Grays Athletic (loan) 9 (0)
2017 Grays Athletic 0 (0)
2017–2018 Nuneaton Town 14 (0)
Total 453 (10)
National team
2007–2008 England C 4 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Ashton was part of Leicester City's youth academy, progressing through the youth system for six years after joining the club at the age of 12. He made seven Premier League appearances during Leicester's 2001–02 season, playing a total of 10 matches for the club. During his time at Leicester, Ashton was loaned out to both Notts County and Oxford United respectively, joining the latter permanently in September 2003 after his successful loan spell. He played over 100 matches for the club spanning over three league seasons, before being released in May 2006.

He signed for Rushden & Diamonds ahead of the 2006–07 season, spending one season at the club before joining Essex club Grays Athletic on a free transfer in May 2007. He spent one and a half years with Grays, before signing for Stevenage Borough for an undisclosed fee in January 2009. Ashton was an important part of the team's defence during the club's successful 2009–10 season, a season in which Stevenage earned promotion to the Football League for the first time in the club's history. The following season, Ashton played a key part in Stevenage earning back-to-back promotions to League One following their sixth-place finish and subsequent League Two play-off victory in May 2011. Ashton has also earned four caps for the England C team.

Club career

Early career

Ashton started his career at Leicester City as part of the club's youth system.[1] After progressing through the YTS ranks at the club, he signed his first professional contract in January 2001.[1] He made his first-team debut for Leicester in the Premier League in March 2002, playing the whole match in a 2–0 defeat to Leeds United at Filbert Street.[2] Ashton went on to play a further six matches towards the latter stages of the 2001–02 season.[3] Although the club were relegated to the First Division, Ashton signed a new three-year deal at the end of the season.[4] He started in the club's first match of the 2002–03 campaign, a 6–1 defeat against Ipswich Town at Portman Road.[5] Subsequently, Ashton only played one further match for Leicester,[6] before being loaned out to Notts County on a one-month deal in November 2002.[7] A day after completing his loan move, he made his Notts County debut in a 2–2 draw against Mansfield Town,[8] and played a further three games before returning to his parent club.[6][9] On his return to Leicester, Ashton made one further appearance for the club, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute in the team's 1–1 draw with Norwich City.[10] At the end of the season, Leicester made Ashton available for transfer.[11]

Oxford United

Ashton joined Third Division club Oxford United on an initial one-month loan deal just before the start of the 2003–04 season, making his debut on the opening day of the season in a 1–0 win against Lincoln City at Sincil Bank.[12] After making seven appearances in all competitions during the first month of the season, with Oxford remaining unbeaten during that period, his move to the club was made permanent in September 2003.[11] He played regularly during the season, making 38 appearances,[13] as Oxford finished just shy of the play-off places despite a strong start to their league season.[14] He continued to hold down a regular place in the Oxford squad the following year, and made 31 appearances in all competitions,[15] with Oxford finishing the season in a mid-table position.[16] During the season, Ashton received the first red card of his career when he was sent-off after receiving two yellow cards in Oxford's 4–0 defeat to Southend United on 6 November 2004.[17] Just over a month later, he was sent-off once again, again for two bookable offences, against Swansea City at the Kassam Stadium.[18] Under the new management of Brian Talbot, Ashton played 34 games during the club's 2005–06 season, scoring his first goal for Oxford, and the first of his professional career, in a 1–1 draw with Rochdale in February 2006, netting with a right-footed shot from just inside the area.[19][20] However, after being openly criticised by Talbot following a 2–1 defeat at Stockport County,[21][22] Ashton did not feature as regularly in the first team, making just one further appearance that season.[19] In May 2006, Ashton was released by new manager Jim Smith, ending his three-year tenure at the club.[23]

Rushden & Diamonds

A month after being released, he signed for Conference National club Rushden & Diamonds,[24] and made his debut on the opening day of the 2006–07 season in a 1–0 defeat to Crawley Town.[25] He was a regular in central defence for Rushden throughout the season, and he scored his first goal in the club's 4–1 away victory against Tamworth on 12 September 2006.[26] The goal was scored from the penalty spot late on in the second half to round off a comfortable victory.[27] Ashton added one further goal to his tally during the season, "powering home" Curtis Woodhouse's cross to ensure Rushden ended their four-game streak without a win with a 2–0 victory at Forest Green Rovers in March 2007.[28] Despite playing regularly, Ashton was transfer-listed by new Rushden manager Garry Hill in April 2007, and was later told he was free to find a new club.[29] He played 42 games for Rushden during his only season with the club, scoring twice.[30]

Grays Athletic

A month later, he joined fellow Conference Premier club Grays Athletic on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract.[29] Ashton made his Grays debut in a 0–0 draw away to recently relegated Torquay United, playing the whole match.[31] Two weeks later, he scored his first goal for the Essex team in a 1–0 win against Altrincham, heading in Charley Hearn's left-wing cross to give Grays the lead in the second-half.[32] He scored one further time that season, scoring just before half-time as Grays secured a 2–0 home victory over Torquay United on 1 March 2008.[33] He made 47 appearances in all competitions[34] during a season that witnessed Grays finish tenth in the Conference Premier.[35] Ashton impressed in central defence during the 2007–08 season, and the defender was named as the Players' Player of The Year and Supporters' Player of The Year.[36] He played a further 19 matches for Grays during the first half of the 2008–09 season,[37] but was placed on the transfer list by Grays following discussions with the club in which the player stated he would not be staying at the club for 2009–10.[38]

Stevenage

Ashton joined Stevenage Borough on 29 January 2009, signing for an undisclosed fee.[39] The move reunited him with manager Graham Westley, who had previously managed Ashton during his brief stint at Rushden & Diamonds.[39] He made his Stevenage debut in a 1–0 victory over Woking at Broadhall Way in February 2009,[40] making 13 appearances for the Hertfordshire club during 2008–09.[41] The following season, Ashton scored his first goal for Stevenage in a 2–0 victory over Eastbourne Borough, scoring with a header from Joel Byrom's cross.[42] He followed this up with another headed goal two months later in a 2–0 win against Kidderminster Harriers at Broadhall Way.[43] Ashton added a third to his goal tally in the same season, sweeping home Stacy Long's corner to score the only goal of the game in a 1–0 win over Histon in March 2010, securing Stevenage a vital three points, a win that moved them four points clear at the top of the league.[44] He made 45 appearances in his first full season with Stevenage, scoring three times,[45] as the club won the Conference Premier by 11 points,[46] earning promotion into the Football League for the first time in their history.[47] During the season, Stevenage had the tightest defence in the league, conceding just 24 goals in 44 games, and keeping 27 clean sheets.[46]

He played his first match of 2010–11 in Stevenage's first ever Football League victory, a 3–1 win over Stockport County.[48] Ashton scored his first goal of the season in a 4–1 away win at Edgar Street against Hereford United, scoring a glancing header from Lawrie Wilson's driven corner.[49] Similarly to 2009–10, Stevenage's success was built on a tight defence, with the club conceding the fewest goals during the 2010–11 League Two season, keeping 19 clean sheets during the season.[50] He made 38 appearances for Stevenage during the season, scoring once,[51] as Stevenage earned promotion to League One in their first Football League season.[52] At the end of the season, Ashton was voted Players' Player of the Year and Player of the Year.[53][54]

Ashton played in Stevenage's first ever League One fixture as Stevenage opened the 2011–12 season with a 0–0 home draw against Exeter City.[55] He signed a new two-year contract with the club in September 2011.[56][57] Ashton scored his only goal of the season in April 2012, scoring with a header in Stevenage's 6–0 away win over Yeovil Town.[58] He made 53 appearances in all competitions,[59] as Stevenage were beaten in the play-off semi-finals after finishing sixth.[60][61] Stevenage's defence was, once again, particularly strong, with only league champions Charlton Athletic conceding fewer goals throughout the course of the season.[61] He remained at Stevenage for the 2012–13 season, with the club stating that they had rejected several bids for him in the summer, along with fellow defensive partner Mark Roberts, from Doncaster Rovers.[62][63] Ashton made his first appearance of the new season in the club's 1–0 away victory over Leyton Orient on 21 August 2012,[64] and played in eight further matches as Stevenage remained unbeaten in the league during the first two months of the season.[65][66] However, he suffered an achilles injury during Stevenage's 2–2 draw with Bury at Broadhall Way on 29 September,[67] the game turned out to be his last of the season.[65] Although he returned to first-team training in January 2013, he ruptured his achilles in a training session, ultimately ruling him out for the remainder of the season.[68] Following the departure of manager Gary Smith in March 2013, Ashton was named as part of the club's coaching staff while the board appointed a new manager.[69] At the end of the season, with Ashton's contract expiring in June, it was announced that he had signed a new two-year deal with Stevenage, keeping him contracted to the club until the summer of 2015.[70]

Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Ashton was appointed club captain following the departure of his predecessor, Mark Roberts.[71] On appointing Ashton as captain, Stevenage manager Graham Westley described him as "the ideal man to lead our team forward. He has a great history at the club, he wins football matches and he leads men. As one fantastic captain departs, so another one is born. He symbolises the desire to succeed that is at the heart of Stevenage and his ambition is stronger than ever".[72]

On 17 May 2014, Ashton signed a new one-year contract at Stevenage.[73]

Later career

After six years at Stevenage he left the club in the summer of 2015, and joined League Two club Crawley Town on a one-year contract on 8 July 2015.[74] Ashton signed for National League club Braintree Town on 19 July 2016.[75]

After a spell on loan with Grays Athletic on loan during the 2016–17 season, Ashton signed for the Isthmian League North club permanently on 8 July 2017.[76] However, Ashton was offered a role as player/assistant-manager at National League North club Nuneaton Town and joined them on 2 August.[77]

International career

Ashton was called up to the England C team, who represent England at non-League level, in May 2007, for the Four Nations Tournament in Scotland.

Personal life

He was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire,[1] and grew up in Whitestone attending St Thomas More Catholic School.[77] Ashton's father is an artist.

In May 2007, Ashton was arrested with Danny Foster, facing three counts of vandalism after the pair danced in the streets of a Scottish Highlands town wrapping themselves in lager advertising banners.[78]

Career statistics
As of match played 29 April 2017
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Leicester City 2000–01[79] Premier League 0000000000
2001–02[3] Premier League 700000—70
2002–03[6] First Division 200010—30
2003–04[13] Premier League 00———00
Total 90001000100
Notts County (loan) 2002–03[6] Second Division 40———40
Oxford United 2003–04[13] Third Division 34010201[lower-alpha 1]0380
2004–05[15] League Two 300001000310
2005–06[19] League Two 331100000341
Total 9712030101031
Rushden & Diamonds 2006–07[30] Conference National 40210—4[lower-alpha 2]0452
Grays Athletic 2007–08[34] Conference Premier 40220—5[lower-alpha 3]0472
2008–09[80] Conference Premier 17020—1[lower-alpha 4]0200
Total 57240—60672
Stevenage 2008–09[41] Conference Premier 110——2[lower-alpha 5]0130
2009–10[45] Conference Premier 35330—7[lower-alpha 4]0453
2010–11[51] League Two 38150002[lower-alpha 6]0451
2011–12[59] League One 43160103[lower-alpha 7]0531
2012–13[65] League One 8000100090
2013–14[81] League One 40040202[lower-alpha 1]0480
2014–15[82] League Two 17010102[lower-alpha 6]0210
Total 1925190501802345
Crawley Town 2015–16[83] League Two 300000000300
Braintree Town 2016–17[84] National League 15000—00150
Grays Athletic (loan) 2016–17[85] Isthmian League Premier Division 9000—0090
Career total 453102609029051710
  1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  2. Three appearances in FA Trophy, one in Northamptonshire Senior Cup
  3. Three appearances in FA Trophy, two in Conference League Cup
  4. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
  5. Appearance in Conference Premier play-offs
  6. One appearance in Football League Trophy, one in League Two play-offs
  7. One appearance in Football League Trophy, two in League One play-offs

Honours

Stevenage

Individual

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